How to Fix iPhone Backup Not Enough Space on Computer Issue (Proven Tips)

"I have an iPhone 6S with 64GB of storage, all of which is used. I'm using iTunes version 12.10.6.2 on a Windows 10 laptop. When I try to back up my iPhone using iTunes, I get the message 'iTunes could not back up the iPhone XXXX because not enough free space is available on this computer.' Why am I getting the message that iTunes says I don't have enough space, but I do actually?"

- Cited from Stackexchange.com

This article tells you some effective solutions to fix the iPhone backup problem - not enough space on computer. If you also encounter this, follow our guide to get it fixed in minutes.

Part 1. How Much Space Does iPhone Backup Take on Computer?
Part 2. How to Fix iPhone Backup Problem "Not Enough Space on Computer"? (PC & Mac)
Part 3. Use iTunes Alternative to Backup iPhone to Computer with Ease
Bonus Tips You May Need

Part 1. How Much Space Does iPhone Backup Take on Computer?

Well, this depends on how much data on your iPhone. If you have 128GB of storage used up on your iPhone, it usually requires more than 128GB of iCloud or computer storage to back up everything on the iPhone. Therefore, before you back up large iPhone data with iTunes, the iTunes default location C Drive must have more than 10GB of free storage left.

Part 2. How to Fix iPhone Backup Problem "Not Enough Space on Computer"? (PC & Mac)

When the problem appears, you can check the computer storage first. If your computer has enough storage but this notification "iTunes could not back up the iPhone because of not enough free space is available on this computer" still pops up during backup, you can try the following tricks to fix it.

Solution 1. Restart the computer and iPhone

Restart your PC by going to Start at the lower-left corner of the screen and clicking Restart. If you use a Mac computer, you can click the Apple icon at the top left corner of the desktop > Restart.

For iPhone X and higher versions: Press and hold the Side button of your iPhone and one Volume button at the same time until the Power off slider shows > Swipe the Slider from right to left to power off your device > Press and hold the Side button until the Apple logo displays.

For iPhone 8 and lower versions: Press and hold the Side button until you see the Power off slider on the screen > Drag the Slider to turn off your device > Press and hold the Side button until the Apple logo appears.

Solution 2. Update your computer and iTunes to the latest version

When you can't back up iPhone because not enough space is available on this computer, make sure that your Mac or PC is up-to-date. If you use iTunes to back up your iPhone, ensure that you are using the latest iTunes version. If not, you can update the iTunes to the latest version from the App Store on Mac or the Check for Updates under the Help section of iTunes.

Solution 3. Update, disable, change or uninstall the security software

If iTunes could not restore because of not enough free space on this computer, you can update, disable, change or uninstall the anti-virus software on your Windows PC. Many statistics show that security software may affect the iTunes backup. Skip this trick if you are using a Mac computer.

Solution 4. Delete the old iTunes backups

Removing some old iTunes backups from your computer, especially some large media backups, is the fastest way to free up your computer storage if it is full. You can open iTunes on your Mac, click iTunes from the Apple menu bar, and choose Preferences... Then select Devices from the window, tap the backup record you want to remove, and hit the Delete Backup button.

Alternatively, you can manually delete the previous backups from the backup location in Windows 10/7/Vista: C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup, or macOS X system: ~Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/.

After that, you can try to back up your iPhone to the computer again.

Solution 5. Rename the backup file to avoid any conflict from the iTunes backup location

Sometimes, this way works for the iPhone backup problem not enough space on computer. If you do not know where the backup location is, you can open the path in Solution 4 to rename it.

Solution 6. Make sure that the time zone, date, and time settings are correct

If you have not used your computer for several months during COVID-19, the date, time, or time zone may be delayed, so you cannot use some computer features. I did meet this issue this year. To correct the date and time, you can navigate to the Data & Time section on your computer and refresh it.

Also read: How to Fix iTunes Error 13014? [9 Methods]

Solution 7. Change the iTunes backup destination

By default, iTunes backup locates in the C Drive of the Windows computer. If you store too many files in the C Drive, your computer will run slower and slower, and the C Drive storage will get less and less. Thus, you can change the iTunes backup location to your computer's other partitions.

The steps are as below:

On your Windows PC, double-click My Computer/This PC > go to the path C:\Users\[PC name]\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync > cut the whole folder under MobileSync to any location you like > right-click and select Open command window here.

Then, input:

mklink/J"C:\Users\[PC name]\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup"

"D:\MobileSync"

And press the Enter key.

Note: The "D" in the second path means D Drive. If you would like to move the iTunes backup to the E Drive, you can set the second path as "E:\MobileSync". If you cannot find the folder AppData, you can open the Windows Explorer on your computer > C > click View at the toolbar > select Hidden items to make it unhidden in the system.

Solution 8. The ultimate way to fix iTunes backup issue without data loss (Recommended)

If the above solutions fail to fix this problem, you can give iTunes Repair a try. This professional tool can repair more than 100 iTunes errors and issues in minutes without data loss, including installation/update/connection/restoration/backup and other issues. Besides, it is widely compatible with all iTunes versions.

Here is a list of key features of iTunes Repair:

* Able to fix over 100 iTunes errors in one click: iTunes installation, update, startup, connection, syncing errors, and other iTunes errors.

* High success rate, secure, fast, easy to use, and no data loss.

* Widely compatible with Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7, iOS 16/15/14/13/12/12.3/11/10..3/10/9 and former versions, and all iTunes versions.

3 steps to fix the iPhone backup problem not enough space on computer:

1. Install the iTunes Repair on your computer, launch it, and choose the Repair module from the toolbox.

2. Connect your iPhone to the computer with a USB cable and unlock your iPhone screen. Once the program detects your device, you will see 3 options on it. Then, click Repair iTunes Syncing Error to move on.

3. Tap the Start button on this program and wait until the automatic repairing process is over. After you see Repair Completed on the screen, you can disconnect your iPhone.

You may like: Full Guide on How to Fix iTunes Error 4005 or iPhone Error 4005

Part 3. Use iTunes Alternative to Backup iPhone to Computer with Ease

To back up iPhone data, except for iTunes, there are also other quick ways. Coolmuster iOS Assistant is the best iTunes alternative app to manage, back up, and restore iOS data on a computer. You can use it to back up everything on your iPhone easily.

Below are the highlights of Coolmuster iOS Assistant:

• Export all files from your iPhone/iPad/iPod to a computer or iTunes for backup.
• Back up and restore the iPhone/iPad/iPod in one click.
• Support contacts, messages, photos, videos, notes, bookmarks, eBooks, calendars, apps, etc.
• Manage your iOS devices: Edit contacts, add bookmarks, add new notes (not supported in iOS10 and later versions), delete calendars, uninstall apps, etc.
• Work with all generations of iPhone, iPad, and iPod, such as iPhone 14/13/12 Pro Max/12 Pro/12/12 mini/SE/11/11 Pro/11 Pro Max/XS Max/XS/XR/X/8/8 Plus/7 Plus/7/6S Plus/6S/6/6 Plus/5S/5C/5/4S/4, etc.

One-click to back up everything on your iPhone:

1. Install and launch the Coolmuster iOS Assistant on your computer.

2. Connect your iPhone to the computer with a USB cable. If you are asked to trust this computer, tap Trust as prompted on your iPhone. Then, click Continue on this program. After a successful connection, you will see the interface below.

3. Back up your iPhone. Click the Super Toolkit section on the top menu > iTunes Backup & Restore > Backup > Choose your iPhone to back up from the drop-down menu > Select a location to store the backup file > Hit OK to start backing up your iPhone.

Bonus Tips You May Need

Here are some other handy tips concerning iTunes you may want to know.

Useful tips for using iTunes

1. Make sure that you have installed the latest version of iTunes on your computer.
2. Keep your iOS device being connected to the computer during syncing, or it can cause errors.
3. Restarting the computer and your device is a universal solution to any problem or error.
4. Sometimes, Apple Servers could also cause some errors between your iPhone and computer. You can try again later.

Fix the iCloud backup problem not enough storage to back up iPhone

As iCloud only offers you 5GB of free storage to back up your iPhone, if you meet the problem of not enough iCloud storage to back up iPhone, you can fix this problem with the following tips:

• Delete old backups on iCloud to free up more cloud storage.
• Check your other iOS devices if they share the same iCloud account.
• Purchase more iCloud storage before backup.

Words in the End

That's all about how to fix the iPhone backup problem not enough space on computer. You can try these methods if you meet this problem. If iTunes causes this issue, you can try iTunes Repair to troubleshoot it fast. Alternatively, Coolmuster iOS Assistant is also a nice choice to back up everything on your iPhone. It helps you do anything quickly and easily - manage, back up, and restore the iPhone data.

If you have other ways to solve this problem, you can share your opinions below.

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